The Best Beauty Looks From The Met Gala 2021

After an 18 month hiatus, the Met Gala is back and better than ever. Cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and postponed until September 13 in 2021, the most famous staircase in the world is back dripping with elegance, drama and, of course, lust-worthy beauty looks. 

This year’s night of nights is co-chaired by a committee of A-list heavy hitters including Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman and Naomi Osaka and is headed up by honorary chairs Anna Wintour, Tom Ford and Instagram’s Adam Mosseri. The theme, ‘In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion’, looks to celebrate the changing tide of American fashion. “I’ve been really impressed by American designers’ responses to the social and political climate, particularly around issues of body inclusivity and gender fluidity,” Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in charge of the Costume Institute, told Vogue US.

So, in true Gritty Pretty fashion we couldn’t help but round up our favourite beauty looks of the night. Get out your pen and paper, you’re going to want to take notes.

Known for her androgynous style, co-chair Billie Eilish surprised onlookers with her old Hollywood glamour Met Gala look. With her bleach blonde hair styled back into Marilyn Monroe-esque curls, Eilish rocked a dark smokey winged eyeliner  paired with a deep raspberry lip colour, making her green eyes pop.

Haitian-Japanese tennis champion and co-chair of the 2021 Met Gala, Naomi Osaka’s beauty look will go down in history as one of the most iconic of all time (in our humble opinion). Inspired by her Japanese heritage, Osaka paired natural skin with a red-on-red eye and lip combo. But the star of the show? Her hair. Embellished with small red flowers, Osaka’s strands were standing strong while on the red carpet.

Youtube star-turned-fashion A-lister, Emma Chamberlain, attended her first Met Gala with Louis Vuitton. Pairing her embellished mini dress with a 60s-inspired flipped out lob, the 20-year-old’s pops of fluro green liner elevated her smokey eye into another stratosphere.

One of the world’s most iconic supermodels for a reason, Gigi Hadid’s Met beauty look was a showstopper. With fiery red hair pulled up into a voluminous ponytail and topped off with a Prada buckle, the look was elevated with her periwinkle blue eyeshadow which proved that beauty rules are, in fact, meant to be broken.

Ethereal, breathtaking, angelic. That’s how we would describe Yara Shahidi’s Met Gala beauty look. Combining her braids with old Hollywood curls (and accessorising with the diamond headband of course), Shahidi’s look was both classic yet playful. Coordinating her mauve eye makeup with her blush, the makeup was sultry yet mystical.

Modernising the classic 2000s trend of matching your makeup to your dress, actor Lupita Nyong’o paired her denim dress with an incredible royal blue winged eyeshadow look. Topping the makeup off with a cherry lip colour, the star of the show was Nyong’o’s incredible afro.

Supermodel Karlie Kloss does not mess around when it comes to beauty, so her Met Gala look was unsurprisingly one of our favourites of the night. Pairing a slicked updo with a bold red lip, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel kept her skin natural and minimal to really let her lips do the talking.

No one does the Met quite like Zoë Kravitz. While we were hoping for a red carpet debut with her beau Channing Tatum, Kravitz’s beauty look well and truly makes up for it. Sticking to her iconic sultry, pared back skin with her smokey winged liner, Kravitz’s braided updo was the showstopper. Effortless yet polished, she is one of our favourite beauty muses for a reason.

Stepping onto the Met carpet with a bold new hairstyle, model Irina Shayk rocked the pixie cut with ease. Letting the edgy new cut do all the talking, the Russia-native paired her chocolate locks with a bronze, muted makeup look (oh, and her incredible Moschino gown).

If anyone can pull off an apple green eye makeup look, it’s actor Gemma Chan. The Crazy Rich Asians star thought outside of the box for her Met Gala beauty look, combining her colourful eye makeup with a peachy lip and intricate updo in the hair. Playful yet chic, we cannot get enough!

If only Emily Blunt’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ character could see her now, gracing the Met steps and in a killer beauty look, no less. With her blonde hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, the actor’s makeup was also a highlight. Rocking a silver sparkly eye look with a crystal and pearl headpiece, Blunt looked like an angel sent from heaven.